Georgia Shapiro holds a photo of herself taken when she first bought the home in 1973.
but the woodwork and some wallpapers and draperies remain. During the Shapiros’ time living in the College Street home, they added
the idea, and I love the history.” “There’s not enough I can say,” she added. “I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.”
more space to the back, but she said
Historic homes are not only found in
they made it so the additional space
Newnan, though. The city of Senoia in
could be removed without affecting the
eastern Coweta is also full of history and
original structure. During the 1980s
beautiful homes.
and ‘90s, many groups – usually bus
Cindy and Brett Divido own two
tours out of Atlanta or groups through
historic homes in Senoia – one as a
the historical society in Newnan – would
business and one as a home where they
come in to tour the home, but Shapiro
raised their five children. Both homes,
said there are not as many groups
which are on 275 and 328 Johnson St.,
touring these days.
were built around the 1850s, Cindy
“I have just what I love,” Shapiro said,
Divido said, and when the Dividos
“just what I always wanted. I love the
moved in around 1993, they worked to
style of furniture and the comfort. I love
restore and save both homes.
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after always wanting to live in an old home, she said. When she moved to Newnan, most of the historic homes here were not being renovated. They were either being torn down or painted white, but she wanted to restore her home. “I look at the pictures now, and it was uninhabitable,” she said. “And I didn’t realize the bigger it was, the longer it would take to redo.” Shapiro said her home inspired her to begin researching other historic homes in Newnan, and she began to regularly write articles about them for The Newnan Times-Herald. She said she had a lot of people tell her that it influenced them into learning about and realizing how old their own homes were. Georgia, the mother of two sons, married Bob Shapiro in 1978. In 1991, the interior of the home became famous as part of the set for the movie “Fried Green Tomatoes.” To turn the interior into Idgie Threadgoode’s turn-of-the century home, a crew worked to hand-grain the woodwork, and paint, wallpaper and furnish the home. While the Shapiro home served as the interior, a home in Senoia was used to portray the exterior. After filming ended, the Shapiro home was returned mostly to how it looked before,